Husband Only Coughs at Night?

the stopping breathing thing, not much coffee yet, work with me, is called sleep apnea, its not allergy related, have him sleep on his side for a week or two, and see if that helps, then he will probably need to look at losing some weight, because sleep apnea is effected by extra weight.now, sleep apnea can be aggravated by an alllergy, does he only wheeze and cough when he is trying to sleep in the bedroom, if this is the case, then he might be sesitive to the pillows, mattress, the dust behind the bed, the comforter, have him sit in a chair across the room and hand him things that are typically on the bed, you hand him the pillows and the wheezing starts, you know what it is..
K. h.

Definitely go to the Dr. In the meantime, try a humidifier and benedryl ... if it's post nasal drip at night it will help greatly. Best of luck

C.:

Sounds like he has allergies. Has he been tested for allergies?

Do you have carpeting in your bedroom?
When was the last time the pillows and bedding were washed?
Do you have drapes in the bedroom? if so - can they be washed? if not - dry cleaned?

Since you aren't far from me - try Fox Mill Family Practice - they are on Reston Parkway - come up Fairfax County Parkway - left onto Fox Mill and left onto their street - easy to get to. ###-###-#### or http://www.foxmillfp.com

The snoring/apnea thing would bother me too. I would ask them to do a sleep study to see how bad he has it. And then go from there.

Time for a sleep study.

For sure he has apnea... but he may also have nocturnal asthma &/OR a chronic sinus condition (the sinuses draining at night into his throat and lungs) and possibly something else going on.

The apnea does not necessarilly mean a CPAP, just as a heads up. If the apnea is triggered by an asthma attack or by mucus hitting his gag reflex from his sinuses... fix the asthma or fix the congestion... and the apnea may well vanish.

Also know, while those are 2 possibilities (asthma and sinuses) they are far from the ONLY possibilities. A sleep study will monitor everything under the sun, and there can be some incrediable information gathered... from heart arrhythmias to what sleep cycles are involved to snoring or wheezing that you can't even hear with the naked ear... they're really phenom.

it does sound like allergies and I would guess it has gotten worse the past two months because you have the heat on in the house. A trip to the doc sounds like a good idea. They may recommend an allergy med or a nasal spray. Your husband sounds like he has a post nasal drip, which would be worse when lying down. Maybe he even has a little sinus infection.

You say he snores, stops breathing in his sleep, and wakes up coughing.

It sounds like your husband has sleep apnea. He should talk to his doctor about having a sleep study done.

You say it has worsened. Has he gained weight? Please don't take offense...Usually weight gain will exacerbate sleep apnea. If this sounds like your husband, I would recommend that he see a doctor...and also work on losing a few pounds if needed.

This can be acid reflux. A change in diet can help! Read "Clean" by Dr Junger and also check with the Dr to see if he has other symptoms.

Definitely get him to a doctor. The stopping-breathing-then-choking thing is definitely a probable sleep apnea sign and can be dangerous: He really is ceasing to breathe for those few moments. Sleep apnea like that can be related to other health issue such as heart issues too so get him checked out. A friend's husband had those symptons and now uses a CPAP machine (I think that's what it's called) every night -- it's a device that fits over his mouth and nose and has made a huge difference.

Meanwhile: Without apnea in the picture, both husband and another friend's husband were doing a lot of nighttime coughing. In both our cases, we not only did a lot of sheet- and bedspread-washing, we ended up encasing our mattresses in non-allergenic mattress covers. In both cases it worked -- the husbands stopped the coughing once the mattresses were encased. Consider using a mattress cover -- it has to completely encase the mattress and be zipped shut and should be "hypo-allergenic" -- and/or replacing the mattress. Even if you get a new mattress I would still get a cover and use it immediately. You can have a very clean room, sheets, etc. but the mattress traps allergens including, yes, flakes from our own skin etc. It's worth a try.

But that should not take the place of an advanced workup and sleep study as soon as possible! He may indeed be allergic to something, but he should never assume that allergies alone are the problem. If he has sleep apnea, he needs treatment for that.

Definitely need to get the sleep study to address the sleep apnea issue. The coughing may be related to the apnea, especially if his airway is frequently closing. Neither my husband or myself would have thought I had sleep apnea (he just noticed the increased loud snoring and occasional coughing) and it turned out I had severe sleep apnea. My sleep study revealed I stopped breathing 46 times per HOUR. That's right, not 46 times total, but per HOUR. Very dangerous... Cpap devices are not all thAt bad. They have different style masks; mine simply fits in my nostrils, not over my nose or mouth. And, although weight and drinking and back sleeping can contribute, it is not a cause-effect relationship. Other than back sleeping and the occasional evening with wine, I do not fit the profile. Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend ENTAA-CARE for the ENT specialist checkup and America's Favorite Sleep Center for the subsequent sleep study. You feel like you are in a pampered hotel room with a queen room, 36 in ch flatscreen tv, room darkening plush draperies, and gentle technicians. Insurance covers everything.

Have him see an ENT to rule out reflux. I had the same problem, exactly as you described it. Several friends said "reflux" and I said that it couldn't be b/c I didn't have any heartburn or any other symptoms. Went to an ENT, she could see the irritation in my throat from stomach acid coming up when I laid down at night. Started taking Prevacid and it went away. Sounds like he also has sleep apnea, however, and should talk to his doctor about a breathing mask. If he is tired a lot, he is probably stopping breathing several times a night. Good luck!

Hi! He may have sleep apnea- esp. if he stops breathing when he snores. He should definitely get checked out. It can be resolved with surgery or by using a CPAP machine. You'll both sleep much better at night and feel much more rested!
Good luck,
L.

post nasal drip from some allergy or a cold? how about sleep apnea? perhaps acid reflux? I think it is time for a trip to the doctor.

I had a bad cold a few months ago and since then I get very dry at night and would frequently wake up coughing. We put a humidifier in our room and I haven't had a problem since. It might not be the problem if he has bad allergies, but it's a simple fix if it works.

This happened to me when I first got married. We moved into a little rental house and I coughed and coughed like your husband. Found out there was ragweed all around. Have you moved into a new area lately?

You don't say...does the coughing start only after he stops breathing? It's possible neither of you know the answer if you're both asleep when the coughing starts. I would suggest a trip to the doctor with a chest xray and some blood work to rule out any other issues. There's something that sticks in my mind about a heart problem or something else that only happens when people are laying down. Don't waste time on a doctor...it's not hard to find one...get the number to call from your insurance company and they also often have web sites. Good luck.

Totally agree with Patty's remarks